Straight Creek Stream Restoration Project

RES is spearheading a critical environmental mitigation initiative for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) Mountain Parkway Widening project in Wolfe County, Kentucky. This project focuses on mitigating ecological impacts through stream restoration within a compressed timeframe, aligning with the KYTC’s schedule demands.

In response to KYTC’s roadway widening initiative, RES was tasked with securing a mitigation site and developing a comprehensive Mitigation Plan for permitting. This required expedited action, with all necessary steps completed within approximately 12 months. The site selected by RES encompasses 644 acres at the headwaters of Straight Creek. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) approved this site for permittee-responsible mitigation in June 2021.

The approved Mitigation Plan will restore 50,194 linear feet of stream to generate 13,428 Ecological Integrity Units (EIUs). These units are essential to compensate for environmental disturbances caused by the parkway expansion. The plan encompasses re-establishment, rehabilitation, and enhancement of stream and wetland areas to ensure sustainability and long-term environmental benefits.

The project faced significant challenges, including the need for a mineral title search, which revealed a severance of mineral rights affecting the project’s credit generation potential. In collaboration with the legal firm Fox, Wood, Wood, & Estill, RES successfully reunited the mineral rights with surface ownership through a court-issued Default Judgment, thus enabling the full scope of mitigation efforts.

During the project’s permitting phase, a revision in the Waters of the U.S. (WOUS) definition identified more streams requiring mitigation. RES expanded the mitigation area within the Straight Creek site to accommodate these changes, ensuring compliance and additional environmental preservation.

Permits were obtained by July 2022, and the parkway construction began in August 2022. RES initiated restoration efforts at Straight Creek in October 2022, with completion expected by June 2024. This will be followed by post-construction success monitoring to assess the impact of ecological restoration.

The Stream Mitigation for the Mountain Parkway Widening Project exemplifies RES’s commitment to environmental stewardship. It highlights the company’s ability to navigate complex regulatory environments and logistical challenges to deliver timely and effective ecological solutions. This project serves as a model of efficient environmental mitigation aligned with large-scale infrastructure developments.